Spades



May 6 1958 v c. E. w. NlscHAN 2,833,585

y SPADES Filed umh 27. 195s 2 sheets-snm 1 May 6,1958 l c. E,. w. NlscHAN 2,833,585

s'PADEs Filed March 27. 1956 2 sheets-sheet 2 United Staates Patent SPADES Carl Erich Wilhelm Nischan, Grossenaspe, Germany Application March 27, 1956, Serial No. 574,243 Claims priority, application Germany May 21, 1955 6 claims. (C1. 294-51) The present invention refers to a folding spade, i. e.

a spade the blade of which is hinged to the handle in j rapidly and locked securely in its position to be used either as a hole or as a spade with the blade turned away from the handle or to be transported with the blade folded against the spade handle.

Moreover, the invention aims at making possible the use of such a spade as a pick or pickaxe.

In the drawings the invention is represented in two forms of construction by way of example:

,'Fig. 1 `shows a front elevation of the tool usable as spade;

Fig. 2 shows a front elevation of the tool with the blade folded against the spade handle;

Fig. 3 shows a side elevation of the tool usable as a hoe;

Figs. 4 to 6 show, at a larger scale, the blade-locking device. Thus, Fig. 4 shows this device in section along the line IV-IV of Fig. l. Fig. 5 shows this device in front elevation and partial section and Fig. 6 shows a cross section through this device along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

Figs. 7 to 9 show as second form of construction cited by way of example the spade represented in Figs. 1 to 6 with an additional pointed bar or spike to be used as pick, as follows:

Fig. 7 shows the tool with the spade blade and the pointed bar folded against the handle, in front view;

Fig. 8 shows the tool usable as a hoe, in side view;

Fig. 9 shows the tool usable as a pick, in side view.

In Figs. 8 and 9 the connecting-bolt for the spade blade and the spade handle has been omitted.

Following is a description of the form of Iconstruction according to Figs. l to 6:

The spade blade 1 and the spade handle 2 are pivotally joined by means of a hinge so that the blade may be swung out of the basic position shown in Fig. 2, in which it is folded against the spade handle, by about 180 into the position shown in Fig. l in which it extends forwardly from the spade handle. The hinge consists, in the pres ent instance, of two spaced bearing plates 3 which project from an anchor plate 4 on the spade blade, the end 5 of the handle 2 fitting with preferably flat opposite surfaces between the bearing plates 3. The hinge bolt is presently formed by a screw 6 with nut 7.

To the end 5 of the handle is fitted a sleeve 8 with an attached cap or cover 9. The sleeve 8 has a central bore 10 through which extends the cylindrical portion of the e'nd 5 of the handle, and a longitudinal groove 11 (see Fig. 6), in which is receivable a projection or key 12 which is firmly mounted in the cylindrical portion of the end 5 of the handle; accordingly the sleeve 8 may be moved back and forth on the cylindrical handle part 5 as long as the key 12 registers with the groove 11, and the sleeve may be turned whenever the key is outside of the groove 11.

The lower face 13 of the sleeve S is arranged as a helicoidal wedge surface 14 (Fig. 5). If the sleeve 8 'is moved towards the spade blade 1 until the groove 11 is clear of the key 12, and the sleeve s subsequently turned in the proper direction, the spade blade will be locked in either one of the three vpositions shown in Figs. 1 to 3 in ywhichat rest `or locking surfaces 25, 26 and 27, re-

spectively, of the plates 3 bear against and are locked to the topsurface of the sleeve 8. This comes about by the cooperating cam action between the wedgesurface 14 of Athe sleeve S and thekey 12 on turning the sleeve in the proper direction. l

Accordingly the tool may be used as spade (see Fig. l) or as hoe (see Fig. 3), or it may be folded and locked in its basic position (see Fig. 2) and packed and transported in that position. The pitch of the helicoidal end face 14 of the sleeve is preferably rather small so as to achieve a most secure wedge action'of the sleeve 8 on any of the rest surfaces 25, 26 or 27 for the secure lock of the spade blade 1 to the handle 2 in any of the corresponding dispositions thereon. The pitch of the helicoidal end lface 14 of the sleeve is in fact so small as to prevent swinging of the spade blade into any of its fixed .dispositions on the handle in any angular disposition of lthe sleeve, and it is for this reason that the sleeve is 'retractible past the projection or key 12 with the latter being then received in the clearance groove 11 in the Sleeve.

Following is a description of the form of construction according to Figs. 7 to 9:

rIhe same parts of the two forms of construction cited by way of example are designated by the same reference numbers.

This form of construction differs from that represented and described in Figs. l to 6 only insofar as besides the pivotally mounted spade blade 1, a pointed bar or spike 21 is also pivotally joined by way of the same hinge 6 to the handle 2. This pointed bar or spike 21 may be folded, exactly like the spade blade 1, against the handle 2 and locked in that position by means of the sleeve 8 (see Figs. 7 and 8), and/or turned by about 90 and locked (see Fig. 9) or turned by about 180 exactly like the spade blade 1 (see Fig. l) and locked. It is also possible, however, to turn both the spade blade 1 and the pointed bar 21 about 90 from the handle 2,'as may easily be deduced from Figs. 8 and 9, and to lock them in these positions. The tool may then be used at will with the spade blade as a hoe for working soft soil or with the pointed bar as a pick for working hard soil, for instance. A

The pointed bar or spike 21 has a lateral end part 22 with a hole for the connecting bolt 6. The end part 22 of the spike is received in a slot 23 in the end 5 of the handle (Fig. 7). Both the spade blade 1 and the pointed bar 21 are jointly pivoted to the handle 2 by means of the screw 6 with nut 7. In the position of spike 21 shown.

in Fig. 9 the front-face 28 of the end part 22 thereof bears against and is locked to the sleeve 3. In the position of spike 21 as shown in Fig. 8, the side-face 29 of the end part 22 thereof bears against and is locked to the sleeve 8. In the aforementioned forward exten-l sion of the spike 21 from the handle 2, the other sideface i30twill bearA against and be locked to the sleeve 8,

t as will be readilyunderstood. Y

' I claim:

l. An implement, comprising a handle; a longitudinal t tool pivoted Vattone end to an adjacent endof said handle and having at `said one end substantially at rest sur- Jfaces angularlyispacedabout the pivot axis and facing `away from the latter; a lateral projection on said handle;

and a sleeve turnable and axially movable on said handle between said pivoted tool and projection and having adjacent the latter a helicoidal end face cooperating with said projection, on turning said sleeve in a certain direction,` to advance said sleeve axially with its other end face rnily wedging against either of said restsurfaces for locking said tool to saidhandle in different angular dispositions thereon,r` respectively.

i 2. Afolding implement as set forth in claim l, in

`whichfsaid sleeve is 1 provided l with an internal longitudinal clearance groove for said projection to` permit retraction of said sleeve past `said projection.

3. A`folding impelement' as set forth in claim 1, in whichthepitch of said helicoidal sleeve end face is so small las k'to prevent a swing of said tool from either of said dispositions into the other disposition in any angular position of said sleeve, and said sleeve is provided `with an internal longitudinal clearance groove for said projection to permit retraction of said sleeve adequate to permit swinging of said tool into either of said dispositions. Y

4. A combination implement, comprising a handle; different longitudinal tools c'oaxially pivoted at adjacent ends thereof to one end of said handle and having at i said adjacent ends groups of substantially at rest surfaces, respectively, of which those of each group are angularly spaced about the pivot axis and those of said groups face away from and are equally spaced from said pivot axis; a lateral projectionon said handle; and a sleeve turnable and axially movable on said `handle between said pivoted tools and projection and having adjacent the latter a helicoidal end face cooperating with said projection, on turninglsaid sleeve in a certain direction, to advance said sleeve axially with its other end face firmly wedging against either of said rest surfaces of said groups for locking said tools to said handle in different angular dispositions thereon, respectively.

5. A combination implement as set forth in claim 4, in which said tools are a spade blade and a pick spike, respectively7 and certain rest surfaces of said groups, respectively, are arranged to lock said tools in folded disposition against said handle when wedged against said other end face of said sleeve.

6. Spade consisting of a handle, a spade blade hinged to said handle, and means for locking said spade blade to .said handle in different angular dispositions relative said sleeve to lock said blade to said handle in said dif-` ferent dispositions, respectively, on turning said sleeve in a certain direction.

References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,478,204 Cooney et al Dec. 18, 1923 2,377,730 Vosbikian et al. June 5, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 347,906 Italy Apr. 26, 1937 

